HILLSBORO – Amid a breathtaking sunset and an awe-inspiring postgame firework display, Hillsboro shortstop Justin Gonzalez delivered the decisive blast on the field, ripping a three-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning to propel the Hops to a 7-6 victory over Everett in the final game of a five-game series Thursday.

The win was a welcomed result for a Hops team that was forced to make an adjustment to the gameplan early in the contest.

In the bottom of the seventh inning the Hops put together their last offensive surge. Nate Robertson led things off with a double and Bennie Robinson followed with a bunt single, setting the table for Gonzalez, who smacked the game-winning three-run bomb over the leftfield fence.

"He was working me inside the previous at-bat, so I just wanted to make sure I was ready for anything," he said. "I just wanted to hit the ball hard and come through in that situation. I got a fastball that was elevated and I was able to put the barrel on the ball to help out my team."

Gonzalez, who hit just three home runs this season at Florida State, has already tallied a team-high four for the Hops thanks to an adjustment to his swing.

"We've tried to give him back the athleticism in his swing," House said. "You see him out there playing short(stop), it's beautiful. He has that type of ability swinging the bat. It's just been downsized and mechanical and made to do certain things. We're just trying to give him life back into his swing."

Reliever Cody Geyer, who hadn't given up a run in 8 1/3 innings of work this season on his way to earning the team's Pitcher of the Month award, allowed two scores in the ninth inning, but preserved the win with his third save of the season.

"You've got to finish it some way," he said. "It was a rough ending, but we battled, got through it, the hitters scored a lot of runs and it was a great win."

After getting out to a Northwest-League worst in several statistical categories at the plate, Hillsboro's 15-run total over its last two games is a sign that the offense is finally falling into place.

"We need it, because the pitching isn't going to be perfect. We need to be able to support them," House said. "It's good, the last couple of games, to be able to do that and put some runs on the board. That was a big, big homer by Gonzalez."

Hillsboro's Independence Day Celebration, which consisted of a sack race, Twinkie-eating contest and red, white and blue hats for the players, drew a record crowd of 5,205, breaking the previous mark of 4,853 by more than 300 fans.